Lasha Inashvili has won Austria’s prestigious international poster contest for the second time with his striking design for the 2027 Hahnenkamm Races.
For the second time in just three years, Georgian graphic artist Lasha Inashvili has won the official poster competition of the legendary Hahnenkamm Races in Kitzbühel, Austria. His winning design for the 2027 Hahnenkamm Races was selected from 286 submissions by 138 artists from Europe, Asia, and North America.
The Hahnenkamm Races are among the world’s most prestigious alpine skiing events. Every year, the Kitzbühel Ski Club invites artists and designers from around the world to create the official poster for the following edition of the races. With his latest success, Inashvili has made history: he is the first artist ever to win the competition twice.
His first victory came in 2024. The jury selected the winning design anonymously, with the identities of the artists remaining unknown throughout the judging process and being revealed only after the final decision had been made, ensuring complete impartiality.
This year’s winning artwork is a folded poster featuring a geometric rooster, a reference to the Hahnenkamm (“Rooster’s Comb”). Achieving the final result required dozens of attempts.
“To make sure viewers could recognize the geometric rooster, I broke my own principle of visual purity and cut the overlapping letters ‘HKR’ to create the rooster’s eye,” Inashvili said.
Along with the title, Inashvili receives €7,000 in prize money and an invitation to attend the 2027 Hahnenkamm Races.
His first visit to Kitzbühel in 2024 left a lasting impression. “When I visited Kitzbühel for the first time and experienced the atmosphere of this authentic sporting festival in such a charming, almost fairy-tale town, I simply fell in love with it.”
Alpine ski racing also holds a special place in the artist’s heart. “As someone who unsuccessfully tried alpine skiing as a child, the sport always seemed a little unreachable and, if I may say so, somewhat elite. That’s why I still follow ski racing today with great respect and admiration.”
Source: Hahnenkamm Races
